Perspectives - Hardcover

Downs, Hugh

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 157036219X ISBN 13: 9781570362194

Publisher: Turner Pub, 1995

Synopsis

Perspectives is a wide-ranging collection of some of Hugh Downs's most interesting, informative, and entertaining essays, adapted from the ten-minute broadcasts that have become his hallmark. His topics include everything from ancient myth to space exploration, and include such subjects as the intangible value of gold, the meaning of true happiness, the trials of lefties in a right-handed world, and the role of the Iroquois Confederacy in shaping American political thought.

About this title

Reviews

Each week, Downs contributes to the radio program Perspective a 10-minute essay on whatever topic interests him, and more than 50 of those essays appear in this uneven anthology. On political-social issues, he offers some bromides obviously intended to ruffle no feathers: for example, p.c. has much to recommend it, but it creates problems, too; education is good, but we don't have enough of it in the U.S.; there has to be a lot of give and take to make a marriage work; etc. He excels, however, as a popularizer of science, explaining such complex matters as space travel, the breakthroughs that nano-technology may bring and the way we communicate by means of pheromones. Here he is sparklingly clear and painlessly didactic. The book deserves to be read if only for those selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wide-ranging essays from a well-known broadcast journalist.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hugh Downs, cohost of the 20/20 television news program, holds the Guinness world record for the "greatest number of hours on camera." He also broadcasts weekly 10-minute essays on ABC Radio's Perspective program, and this book consists of more than 50 of those radio commentaries. Surprisingly, Downs is an effective, entertaining writer who open-mindedly discusses topics that range from aging, AIDS, and animal rights to the history of radio, the evolution of neckties, tipping in restaurants, and interactive TV. He often opens his essays with a personal anecdote; for example, while stuck in a cab, he ponders the demise of travel by horse, musing that a horse-drawn carriage got a person across New York City at 15 mph while a taxi now creeps along at 11 mph. He also leads off a discourse on left-handedness by recalling the moment he realized his infant son was a southpaw. Each essay delivers a quick, thought-provoking read. Thanks to his 56-year career in broadcasting, Downs proves to be a true communicator, a man who gets his point across in clear, concise terms. Jennifer Henderson

Edition details

• Publisher: Turner Pub
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 157036219X
• ISBN 13: 9781570362194
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 300